Mind of Matt

Category: Autarky Lab

  • Iceberging

    In an article called “Choosing an island” I explored the options which island could be available for building a sovereign micro-state. The islands that are available have all their implications, however … it would be a difficult thing to do. So if we cannot choose an island to live on, then why not on an […]

  • Against name-based societal interfaces

    I agree that, in a society, one needs agreed-upon “interfaces” by which people are able to recognize other’s abilities and qualifications. However, I argue that the current implementation of that interfacing is or got compromized. I am therefore against this system. The current implementation is based on “names” or “titles”, which entitle people to certain […]

  • Choosing an island

    Basically, why do we need a sovereign micro-society? The reason is not that it would be unbearable to live within a current state (some even deal quite respectfully with all their people, see e.g. the First Nations in Canada. The reason is that it could become unbearable to live in an existing state (like when […]

  • The monastery as a revived society model

    For years I am in search of better models for society. Here is another one. It has the special benefit that it can coexist with an area’s current political situation. A monastery (at least the way it is thought to be) is founded by people who are critical of the social and political situation of […]

  • The "population market" society model

    For years I am in search of better models for society. Here is another one. Normally, states may suppress people, but the people are not able to suppress the state. This situation should be changed so that states are forced to compete for people; which would establish a “population market”. People would migrate to the […]

  • Want and abundance based societies

    There are two types of society: those whose working principle is want (necessity, absence) and those whose working principle is abundance. In practice, there are all sorts of societies in between these extremes. Strictly speaking, the abundance based society is paradise. It is important to note that “lack” and “abundance” here do not refer to […]

  • Democracy and Pseudodemocracy

    Most states in Africa call themselves “democracies” and are formally “democracies”, but the real ways of influence and might are that different that they are not to be regarded as democracies. Even Iran seems to call itself a democracy, but is dictatorship. It is very clever to keep other countries and the own people as […]